Transportation
The Latest Evidence That Helmet Laws Don't Help Bike Safety
Public health might be better off if cities focused on building better bike lanes instead.
It goes against all common sense, even as it’s become increasingly clear to anyone swayed by the science: bike helmet laws don’t seem to improve rider safety.
The latest evidence comes via a new study, published in BMJ Open, conducted by a group of Canada-based public health scholars. Kay Teschke of the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, and collaborators gathered Canadian data on bicycle use, cycle-related hospitalization, and a number of other variables including helmet legislation in 11 jurisdictions between 2006 and 2011. Some areas had helmet laws over this period, while others did not.